Seahawks' Pete Carroll Calls Out Refs After Loss to Cowboys: 'Way Too Many Penalties' | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Viewers watching the Seattle Seahawks-Dallas Cowboys game on Thursday night weren't the only ones annoyed with all of the flags being thrown by the officials.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll called out the referees after his team's 41-35 loss for all of the penalties that were called.

"It's unfortunate that it feels like there was a whole 'nother factor in this game," Carroll said to reporters during his postgame press conference. "I don't know, you guys saw it a lot better than I did, but there was just way too many penalties in this game, for both sides. We've got to get out of that kind of football."

The Seahawks and Cowboys combined for 257 yards worth of penalties on 19 calls accepted by either side. Those totals don't include six penalties that were declined.

Seattle's final drive of the first half featured four flags thrown, including three on the Cowboys for being offsides. One of them was for a pass interference against DaRon Bland that was initially declined because Jaxon Smith-Njigba appeared to catch a touchdown.

Replay determined Smith-Njigba didn't maintain control of the ball when he hit the ground, so the Seahawks accepted the pass interference call to get the ball at the Cowboys' 1-yard line.

Dallas defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence was offsides on the next play, but the Seahawks declined it because D.K. Metcalf caught a touchdown pass from Geno Smith.

Things did settle down in the fourth quarter with just one penalty accepted between the two teams.

Despite Carroll's unhappiness with the officials and the high number of flags thrown, this wasn't close to the NFL record for most penalties in a single game. That distinction belongs to a game between the Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 17, 1967, according to Tony Catalina of Pro Football Network. Both teams combined for a total of 372 yards on 39 penalties.

This wasn't even the most penalized game of the season. The Week 6 game between the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns featured 25 penalties accepted.

The flag-fest in Seahawks-Cowboys did set a season-high for penalty yards. The 49ers and Browns "only" lost a combined 224 yards.

Carroll's frustration with the officials is certainly warranted, but he also has to get his team back on track with their playoff hopes fading rapidly. The Seahawks are 6-6 overall after losing three straight games and have fallen to the No. 7 spot in the NFC postseason race.